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First impressions of the OneBlade

Hey guys! Since the OneBlade is still new to most of us, and no doubt prompted skepticism when first revealed, I thought I'd note down my thoughts on the razor as I begin to use it (it arrived yesterday and I had my first shave with it this morning). I'll add to this thread as I spend more time with the razor.

As background, I've been wet shaving (as in, no more cartridges) since November 2014, and in my enthusiasm have tried many different DEs (favorites now being my Wolfman OC and NEW SC), a very brief stint with straights, and more recently Schick injectors and (very early days with) a Mongoose. I'm certainly a shaving hobbyist at this point, as are most of us.

It's worth noting that the OneBlade makes a very good first impression. As you may have seen already, the packaging is luxe and thoughtful, including the hand-made leather box it comes in and the care given to how the razor is secured within. The razor itself is beautiful, obviously built to great precision, and feels excellently balanced in the hand. Several coworkers stopped by to check it out and it was "oooohs" and "aaaahs" all around.

Here it is next to another arrival yesterday, my first vintage SE (GEM 1912):

$oneblade.jpg

So, to this morning's first shave. Lathered up my brand new B&M Night Music (lovely scent, great slickness), confirmed that yes indeed, I AM able to remove the blade when need be (this was tricky at first), got it re-seated, and had at it.

The basic shaving ability isn't in question here. The OneBlade mowed down my whiskers readily, and with satisfying audible feedback. I wouldn't say it's as eager/efficient as, say, an R41 or what I imagine a Feather SS can do, but, especially going into the second pass, it ate up what was before it while seemingly determined not to irritate or nick. I also felt much more confident getting at problem areas like my chin and parts of my neck.

I found the shave surface (and associated angle) very natural, and while the usual light pressure made sense, there were points where pressing in a bit seemed to help (I wouldn't add pressure through the whole shave, though). It's certainly more pressure than the super-light contact I've been working on with the Mongoose, and if I spend a lot of time with the OneBlade I'll be learning and entirely different set of manual instincts. The razor cruises around curves and forgives pressure: the analogy may be a (good) automatic transmission on a sports car.

I kept things to two passes with a little bit of touch up, but my second pass was a hybrid XTG plus ATG which can be very effective for me with razors I've mastered. No trouble here, though the razor resisted that second pass maybe a bit more than, say, my Wolfman with a Feather blade would have. The resulting shave is quite close (not quite full BBS but I wasn't trying for that), with almost no alum sting, zero irritation, and no nicks at all.

Overall the feel is just different from my DEs, injectors and the Mongoose. It's got a relaxed, "no brainer," feel while still shaving effectively. It's too soon for any conclusions, but I already suspect if I were to have the OneBlade as my only razor, I'd miss the satisfaction of using (relatively) trickier, less "automatic" razors. I can see why the OneBlade folks aren't targeting wet shaving hobbyists as their primary market: this isn't a hobbyist razor with a learning curve to take satisfaction from mastering. It's an immediately approachable, attractive tool that, at least based on this first try, provides a very good, close shave without cuts or irritation.

I intend to give the OneBlade a good run over the next week or two to really get a sense of it.

(Two quick niggles: the design of the head makes edge trimming (sideburns in my case) trickier, and getting the hairs just beneath the nose on a WTG pass was awkward to say the least.)
 
Thanks for starting the thread. I've got my eyes on this and have seen a few posts here from those who have picked one up. I'll look forward to following this thread and getting updates and impressions from the group of owners.
 
Your experience is the same I've had each time I've used my OneBlade!
Great effortless shave with a fun razor.
 
Thanks guys! I'm going to keep updating this thread with my ongoing experience in these early days with the razor. But it would be great for other OneBlade users to keep adding their thoughts as well!

Funny: thinking back to this morning's shave in my mind, I kept instinctively picturing the razor having little wheels and racing around my face. Sounds odd, but it's like my memory of the shave was of being almost too easy. It's the easiest, most carefree razor I've used that isn't a cartridge. It feels like cheating, really.

The downside I see right now is, as I said earlier, this isn't really a hobbyist razor. If you're craving a challenge, something to master, or just the cool or nostalgic value of using a traditional shaving system, this won't satisfy. I do indeed like the satisfaction of mastering a tool, and I do indeed like the cool factor of traditional shaving systems, leaving me to ponder how I'll ultimately take to the OneBlade and where it will fit in my roster.
 
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Another shave report, plus some sort of philosophical thoughts. :001_smile

My second shave with it this morning went very well: once again not a single nick, nor any irritation at all, despite my "pushing it" in a few areas (hello, chin!) and going for two passes on my neck and three passes (WTG, XTG, ATG) on my cheeks and jawline. It seems counterintuitive to apply pressure, but in some areas the OneBlade seems to do best this way. Certainly I'm still getting to know the razor, but I can say it's not the height of efficiency (not at R41 or Mongoose levels, or what I assume comes from a Feather AC or sharp straight). Yet it's not shy about cutting, either, and that it does its work with no irritation is impressive.

My disappointment right now, as funny as this might sound, is that the OneBlade feels so forgiving and easy that it sort of takes the fun out of wet shaving as a hobby. We all know how satisfying it is to master a skill, and traditional safety razors and straights offer a learning curve to traverse. The OneBlade is sort of fool-proof, a no-brainer. Which is great! And yet... potentially less gratifying. Another aspect of this: I've spent time learning to get great lathers, and finding the best-performing soaps, but I suspect the OneBlade would cut well with sub-optimal lather. The various factors of wet shaving we enjoy tweaking, optimizing, and mastering seem less important with this razor. At least that's my view at the moment.

Strange criticism, right? For the OneBlade's primary audience — current cartridge (or electric) users — this razor is a dream. It shaves like a cartridge with the virtues of a high-quality single blade. Set it, forget it, get it done. It's not going to bite, it's not going to irritate, and your skin will be happier than ever. Add the remarkable design and build quality, and $300 seems pretty fair for what this is! I'm already recommending the OneBlade to a few coworkers who know they can do better than cartridges but are not going to make a hobby out of wet shaving.

For me, though, I'm not sold quite yet, largely because I do enjoy the hobby aspect of all of this. I'm going to take advantage of this 30-day trial period to see how the OneBlade might fit into my roster. Am I just looking for problem-free shaves? Or do I want each shave to offer that hobbyist satisfaction? If it's more the latter, the OneBlade may not be for me. We shall see.
 
This is just s hobby!
Good thing the OneBlade wil fit into that category, because every hobby has a sense of variety. If a hobby was static it would be boring.
 
I have got a OneBlade coming my way next week in a Pass Around..It will all come out in the washing..Going by these shave reports and others this thing was designed to shave like a Cartridge Razor which of course there is Nothing Wrong with but perhaps a Bit Boring to Use..It would also appear that is performs Far Better with a De Spined Gem Blade..:w00t:


Billy
 
I have some GEM PTFEs arriving today, and I plan on seeing how the de-spined GEM works. I agree that, so far at least, the OneBlade seems a bit boring, while at the same time providing faultless close shaves. I realize it's strange to complain about something for being "too good," but indeed I'm kind of missing the skill element. That said, the OneBlade could be perfect for those times I just want an easy, problem free shave without worrying about it.

As far as shaving like a cartridge razor: yes and no. Yes in the sense that it's very approachable, and just doesn't want to irritate or nick. But the actual feel and shave are not cartridge-like. You can hear the blade cutting, there's none of that scraping/flat-palm feeling I get from a Mach 3 or similar, and obviously none of the drawbacks to tightly-packed cheap multiple blades. So the quality of the shave is what you'd get from any good traditional safety razor, but the ease of use is cartridge-like.
 
A brief update today. This morning I decided to go back to one of my favorite razors, my Wolfman OC loaded with a Feather, to compare my recent OneBlade shaves with a familiar baseline. (I also just missed the little bugger.) I'd say my time getting the hang of the Mongoose last week has improved my DE technique as well, because the shave went very well: near-BBS in two passes, zero irritation, no nicks at all.

Very similar to what I've gotten from the OneBlade so far. Hmm.

This is the sort of comparison that keeps me thinking about how and whether the OneBlade fits into my roster. It gives a good, even great, shave, and with wonderful ease. That's not in doubt. But I got an equally great shave with my Wolfman DE this morning, and I enjoyed it a bit more because I was more engaged with the process.

Having another great razor is normally no cause for consternation; when it's a $300 investment, though, I take more time to consider.
 
After taking the weekend as a chance to try out my new Feather SS non-folding (nifty razor! straights are tricky! but fun!), this morning I went back to the OneBlade, which made this my third go with it. I'd say I enjoyed this shave the best so far. While the razor continues to be remarkable for not nicking or irritating despite an effective shave, this time I better appreciated some of its design choices (small side guards to keep a corner from nicking your nose, for instance) and its feeling of being one sharp blade seated in high-quality metal, despite its smooth-shaving character. This is no cartridge. Far from it.

I also discovered that while the angle is very easy to find (there's a very obvious "shave surface" created by the guard and cap bits), it's certainly possible to stray from this angle. But at that point, you can tell the razor isn't really cutting, so getting back is simple and intuitive. This didn't even come up on my previous two shaves so I'd say generally the razor orients itself to the skin very easily.

This morning I had 1.5 days growth (which didn't throw the razor in the slightest). I was aiming for a two-pass shave (WTG-XTG above the jaw, WTG-ATG below), but given how problem-free the OneBlade was being I went for an ATG pass on my cheeks as well. They're now ridiculously smooth. And as before, no irritation, no nicks.

I'm now confident saying, if you're looking for an efficient but smooth, problem-free single-blade shave with almost no learning curve (and that would include many guys just ditching cartridges), this is the razor to consider first. My other razors can get me there too, but by requiring different amounts of care and skill on my part. This is a good thing, as the skill involved is fun and satisfying. But for just lathering up and getting it done, no fuss, but still getting all the advantages of a single sharp blade, it looks like the OneBlade is indeed the one.
 
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It seems like "The One Blade" should be compared to an injector razor. Your criticisms about the shaving experience being too easy mirrors mine about Schick injectors. I would suggest picking up a Schick injector and compare that shave to this razor. I would suggest a Schick E Type, C Type, or the adjustable. Most other Types are pretty mild.
 
It seems like "The One Blade" should be compared to an injector razor. Your criticisms about the shaving experience being too easy mirrors mine about Schick injectors. I would suggest picking up a Schick injector and compare that shave to this razor. I would suggest a Schick E Type, C Type, or the adjustable. Most other Types are pretty mild.

Funny you mention that: a month or so back I picked up my first injector, a Schick E-2, and more recently got an I-2 Hydromagic. I like them an awful lot; they're nimble, smooth and sharp, and like you imply, quite approachable. I'd say, though, that they still take a bit more finesse than the OneBlade. With the wrong angle or two much pressure, you can irritate or nick yourself with an injector. With the OneBlade, well, I have yet to do either, though I suppose if you went well out of your way (pressed down really hard) you might cause some problems.

But it's true that these days if I'm recommending a first non-cartridge razor to someone and they balk at $300 for the OneBlade, my next recommendation is likely to be an injector (including the upcoming stainless one from Supply Provisions), unless the person likes the nostalgia/cool factor of a DE.
 
The OneBlade Razor..
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Three Pass Shaving Routine...
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Hot Water prep & massage with Argan Oil
OneBlade Razor (Pass Around)
Feather SE Blade
Mason Pearson Pure Badger
French Monsovan Bol Tallow soap
Thayers Original Witch Hazel

I just had the Most Comfortable All Over BBS Dolphin Smooth Shave with the OneBlade Today..The Feather Blade performs very well in this Razor..Its obvious to a Blind Man that the OneBlade has been designed around the Feather Blade..No Bones About it..I loaded a Gem blade to begin with but it doesn't click into place & when I had a shave there was clear movement with my barbed wire Whiskers..I wasn't happy with that to say the least..I suspected this would happen when I loaded it because the Gem Blade has cut outs on the side & it just doesn't get locked in the way the designers intended..
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Moreover..The Feather blade even when locked down has a slight bit of play..Very small amount but its there..The blade is not rigidly held in place..I don't think it affects the shave any because of the Pivoting or Floating Head Design..The OneBlade looks Aesthetically pleasing to the eye & looks well constructed..I wont mention the Packaging because I don't bother with that Kinda Malarkey..Looks like an Indian Squaw could have perhaps made it though..
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I as immediately struck by how Mild the OneBlade is..Its very Mild Indeed..The Feather blade makes up for this though because its a very sharp blade..On my First WTG Pass it reduced my 2 days of Whiskers with less efficiency than a Gem Featherweight for sure..Very comfortable though..It came to more to its own on my 2nd XTG Pass & Subsequent ATG pass & performed very well especially on the neck area..A Monkey would find it hard to get razor burn or any irritation with this razor..It is as forgiving as a Modern High End Cartridge System for Sure..This Razor is clearly designed to use a sort of even pressure on the Floating Head..Not any forward pressure but even pressure..I put an elastic band around the pivoting arm to test this & it just wouldn't remove a Darn Whisker..Its so Darn Mild..If you lock up a Modern Cart razor it wont shave worth a darn either as they are designed to use some pressure as well..
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So what can I say..The OneBlade is one of the most comfortable SEs I have ever used & it offered me an All Over BBS result..Here comes the Paradox..I didn't find the OneBlade Comfortable to use..That is to say this thing is like a Mediaeval Design the way it handles during the shave..The Head is Very Clunky & Feels Very Loose Pivoting Back & Forth..Its reminded me of a Jack in the Box on a Spring..The Head can skim over your face when the angle isn't Spot On..That's not a problem once the penny drops of course but a preverbal pain in the *** nevertheless..The design very feels very Primitive & Arcane..I found it quite an Awkward & Uncomfortable Razor to Use..There lays the Paradox..It offers a very comfortable shave but I found it very uncomfortable to use..
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The OneBlade & the Feather was just so forgiving..The End Result BBS for me was Akin to a Cartridge Kinda Depth & Finnish..Its a shallow BBS Result & that's Fine & Dandy of Course but its a lot less Comfortable to Shave with than a Top End Cart.Its a Mediaeval Instrument by Comparison..I dumped the blade as it was blunt on this first shave with it..That's my First Impressions of the OneBlade Razor..
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Billy..
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The OneBlade Razor..
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Three Pass Shaving Routine...
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Hot Water prep & massage with Argan Oil
OneBlade Razor (Pass Around)
Feather SE Blade
Mason Pearson Pure Badger
French Monsovan Bol Tallow soap
Thayers Original Witch Hazel

I just had the Most Comfortable All Over BBS Dolphin Smooth Shave with the OneBlade Today..The Feather Blade performs very well in this Razor..Its obvious to a Blind Man that the OneBlade has been designed around the Feather Blade..No Bones About it..I loaded a Gem blade to begin with but it doesn't click into place & when I had a shave there was clear movement with my barbed wire Whiskers..I wasn't happy with that to say the least..I suspected this would happen when I loaded it because the Gem Blade has cut outs on the side & it just doesn't get locked in the way the designers intended..
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Moreover..The Feather blade even when locked down has a slight bit of play..Very small amount but its there..The blade is not rigidly held in place..I don't think it affects the shave any because of the Pivoting or Floating Head Design..The OneBlade looks Aesthetically pleasing to the eye & looks well constructed..I wont mention the Packaging because I don't bother with that Kinda Malarkey..Looks like an Indian Squaw could have perhaps made it though..
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I as immediately struck by how Mild the OneBlade is..Its very Mild Indeed..The Feather blade makes up for this though because its a very sharp blade..On my First WTG Pass it reduced my 2 days of Whiskers with less efficiency than a Gem Featherweight for sure..Very comfortable though..It came to more to its own on my 2nd XTG Pass & Subsequent ATG pass & performed very well especially on the neck area..A Monkey would find it hard to get razor burn or any irritation with this razor..It is as forgiving as a Modern High End Cartridge System for Sure..This Razor is clearly designed to use a sort of even pressure on the Floating Head..Not any forward pressure but even pressure..I put an elastic band around the pivoting arm to test this & it just wouldn't remove a Darn Whisker..Its so Darn Mild..If you lock up a Modern Cart razor it wont shave worth a darn either as they are designed to use some pressure as well..
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So what can I say..The OneBlade is one of the most comfortable SEs I have ever used & it offered me an All Over BBS result..Here comes the Paradox..I didn't find the OneBlade Comfortable to use..That is to say this thing is like a Mediaeval Design the way it handles during the shave..The Head is Very Clunky & Feels Very Loose Pivoting Back & Forth..Its reminded me of a Jack in the Box on a Spring..The Head can skim over your face when the angle isn't Spot On..That's not a problem once the penny drops of course but a preverbal pain in the *** nevertheless..The design very feels very Primitive & Arcane..I found it quite an Awkward & Uncomfortable Razor to Use..There lays the Paradox..It offers a very comfortable shave but I found it very uncomfortable to use..
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The OneBlade & the Feather was just so forgiving..The End Result BBS for me was Akin to a Cartridge Kinda Depth & Finnish..Its a shallow BBS Result & that's Fine & Dandy of Course but its a lot less Comfortable to Shave with than a Top End Cart.Its a Mediaeval Instrument by Comparison..I dumped the blade as it was blunt on this first shave with it..That's my First Impressions of the OneBlade Razor..
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Billy..
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WOW--after reading this all I can say is YMMV
 
Another close, (pretty much) irritation and nick-free shave with the OneBlade this morning. This makes for my fourth shave with the razor, and I'm feeling that much more familiar with it.

Shavemac #177 silver tip
Tabula Rasa Steam Punk
OneBlade
Feather (2)
alum
Nancy Boy Blossomwood ASB


With confidence built from the ease of previous shaves with the OneBlade, I went through this one with few inhibitions: ATG angles or extra touch-up passes (even a few without lather) which would almost certainly cause razor burn from other set-ups resulted in, instead, an exceptionally smooth shave. Possibly the best BBS I've ever had, because it's the first time I bothered to track down every bit of roughness remaining from the jaw up and tackle it until it was gone.

To be fair, there was the slightest alum sting, and a very subtle feeling of tightness or heat on my face during the next hour, but given how much I pushed things, I'm hardly bothered. Plus, that slight sting was very, very minor and is already gone. I discovered one weeper under my chin, but only an hour after the shave, so it must've been small. Still, lesson here is the OneBlade can be pushed a little too far. It's just that "too far" with this razor seems to leave it in the "still pretty darn comfortable" category.

I do wonder how much into a third shave this Feather FHS will last, given my coarse beard and how much it feels I've driven the blade by now. It did seem as if it were just a bit less effective today on a second shave, but certainly more than acceptable, so at the very least I'll be getting two shaves from each blade. Tomorrow I'll see what a third feels like (I'd switched the blade out after last week).

It's good stuff, though. I wish the marketing of the razor felt a little less "finance bro," but I can't deny they've done their job with design and (by initial impression) craftsmanship. Let's hope the whole thing holds up.
 
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